Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Serial No. N6832 SCS Doc. 18/14 SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL MEETING - JUNE 2018 United States Research Report for 2017 by M.L. Traver and K.A. Sosebee NOAA/NMFS, Northeast Fisheries Science Center Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA [email protected] A. Status of the Fisheries (Subareas 3- 6 Inclusive) Revised sampling and protocols were implemented in the Northeast Region in 1994, in 2004, and in 2010. Auditing and allocation procedures have been used to prorate total reported landings by species among areas. However, these procedures are subject to change and the landings, by area, are therefore still considered provisional. Most spring and autumn survey indices for 2009-2017 were converted from the FSV Henry B. Bigelow catches (weights) to RV Albatross IV catches (weights) using a either single conversion factor or length-specific conversion factors which have only been estimated for some species. Consequently, 2009-2017 survey data points should be interpreted cautiously, and these values may change in the future as new methodologies are considered. The 2009-2017 data points have been plotted separately in the figures presenting spring and fall survey data. In 2014, the spring survey did not cover a large portion of the Mid-Atlantic region and this has impacted the survey indices for summer flounder, southern red hake, Atlantic mackerel, Atlantic herring, spiny dogfish and little skate. The impact differs for each species and is discussed in those sections. In 2017, the fall survey did not cover the Southern New England to Mid-Atlantic region and this has impacted the survey indices for Southern New England yellowtail flounder, southern windowpane flounder, southern silver hake, butterfish, longfin inshore squid, shortfin squid, winter skate, barndoor skate, thorny skate, smooth skate, clearnose skate, and rosette skate. The impact differs for each species and is discussed in those sections. Additionally, the survey was conducted on a different vessel the FSV Pisces, which is considered ti be a sister ship the the FSV Henry B. Bigelow. The impact of this change is unknown but should be minimal. For the last few years, the United States has been allocated quota for Div. 3LNO yellowtail flounder and, from 2012-2017, a vessel fished in the area. An additional vessel fished in area for Atlantic halibut in 2014, while two additional vessels were added in 2017, one for yellowtail and one for Atlantic halibut. The sections for cod, haddock, pollock, yellowtail flounder, white hake, halibut, other flounders, and skates contain the landings and the discards of these species. The landings and discards of species not included below are summarized in Table 1. 1. Atlantic Cod United States commercial landings of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in 2017 were 842 mt, a 41% decrease from the 2016 landings of 1,432 mt. In addition, 1.8 mt were landed from Div. 3N and 29.2 mt were discarded. In Div. 3M 0.3 mt were discarded while in Div. 3L 0.8 mt were discarded. Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization www.nafo.int 2 Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) research vessel survey biomass indices in the Gulf of Maine remain below time series mean levels (Figure 1) and the stock continues to exhibit a truncated age structure and low recruitment. The NEFSC research vessel survey biomass indices for the Georges Bank stock remain low (Figure 2) and the stock continues to exhibit a truncated age structure and exhibit low recruitment. 2. Haddock United States commercial landings of haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) in 2017 were 5,490mt, a 9% increase from the 2016 landings of 5,023 mt. In addition, <0.1 mt of haddock were landed in Div. 3N and <0.1 mt were discarded. Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) research vessel survey biomass indices in the Gulf of Maine are near time series highs (Figure 3) due to the presence of several strong year classes. The NEFSC research vessel survey biomass indices for the Georges Bank stock are near the highest levels in the time series due to several recent exceptionally strong year classes (Figure 4). 3. Redfish USA landings of Acadian redfish (Sebastes fasciatus) increased by 33% from 3,889 mt in 2016 to 5,172 mt in 2017. Fall research vessel survey biomass indices generally increased from the mid-1990s through 2010, with the 2010 index value of 83.47 kg/tow being the highest on record, before generally decreasing through 2017 (Figure 5). Most recently, the survey biomass indices decreased by 42% from 45.22 kg/tow in 2016 to 26.20 kg/tow in 2017. 4. Pollock (USA Waters of Areas 5&6 stock) USA landings of pollock (Pollachius virens) increased by 26% from 2,582 mt in 2016 to 3,249 mt in 2017. In addition < 0.1 mt of Pollock were discarded in NAFO Div. 3N. Fall research vessel survey indices reflected a general increase in pollock biomass from the mid-1990s through 2005, before declining in 2006 (Figure 6). The survey biomass indices have been variable since 2006, reaching a record-low of 0.19 kg/tow in 2009. Most recently, the index decreased by 28% from 1.30 kg/tow in 2016 to 0.94 kg/tow in 2017. 5. White Hake Nominal USA landings of white hake (Urophycis tenuis) from NAFO Subareas 5 and 6 increased by 49% from 1,325 mt in 2016 to 1,978 mt in 2017. Landings from Div. 3N were 46 mt while <0.1 mt were discarded in Div 3M and 15 mt in Div. 3N. Research vessel survey indices declined during the 1990s and increased in 2000 and 2001 due to good recruitment of the 1998 year class. The indices have generally been variable since 2001. The indices have increased from a low value in 2013 (Figure 7). 6. Yellowtail Flounder USA landings of yellowtail flounder (Limanda ferruginea) from NAFO subareas 5 and 6 were 397 mt in 2017, a 12.6% decrease from 2016 landings of 454 mt. In Div. 3N, landings decreased by approximately 13% from 897 mt in 2016 to 782 mt in 2017. Additionally, 11.3 mt of yellowtail flounder were discarded in Div. 3N bringing the total catch of yellowtail flounder in Div. 3N to 793 mt in 2017. The NEFSC autumn research vessel survey biomass index in the Gulf of Maine has been steadily increasing in the recent three years (Figure 8). Incomplete survey coverage in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization www.nafo.int 3 inshore habitat for the autumn survey in 2017 was analyzed to account examine the differences between including and excluding survey strata on the estimate of mean biomass. A linear relationship between survey estimates that excludes missing strata to survey estimates with the full strata values was applied to the observed 2017 autumn survey value of 4.41kg/tow, and resulted in an upward scaling of the fall survey estimate by approximately 14% (5.023 kg/tow). Relative to 2016, the 2017 NEFSC autumn survey biomass increased from 2.47 kg/tow in 2016, to 4.41 kg/tow for unaccounted missing strata or 5.023 kg/tow when adjusted for missing strata (Figure 8). The NEFSC autumn research vessel survey biomass indices on Georges Bank have been declining over the last nine years. In 2017, the NEFSC autumn survey biomass is second lowest of the time series. The 2017 autumn survey was 0.20 kg/tow compared to 0.44 kg/tow in 2016 (Figure 9). The 2017 biomass index for the NEFSC autumn survey was not computed for Southern New England-Mid Atlantic yellowtail because the primary habitat for this stock was not sampled due to mechanical problems with the survey vessel. 7. Other Flounders USA commercial landings of flounders (other than yellowtail flounder and Atlantic halibut) from Subareas 3-6 in 2017 totaled 5,407 mt, 13% lower than in 2016. Summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus; 49%), winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus; 20% comprising the Georges Bank, Southern New England, and Gulf of Maine stocks), American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides; 23%), witch flounder (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus; 8%), and windowpane flounder (Scophthalmus aquosus; <1% comprising the Northern and Southern stocks) accounted for virtually all of the 'other flounder' landings in 2017. Compared to 2016, commercial landings in 2017 were lower for summer flounder (-25%) and winter flounder (-8%), but higher for witch flounder (12%), American plaice (11%), and windowpane flounder (2%). The American plaice landings from Div. 3N were 77 mt. In addition, 40.3 mt of American plaice were discarded in Div. 3N bringing the total catch of American plaice in Div. 3N in 2017 to 117.3 mt. The witch flounder landings from Div. 3N were < 1 mt while witch flounder discards were 2.6 mt. Research vessel survey indices in 2017 increased for witch flounder, decreased for American plaice, Georges Bank winter flounder, northern windowpane, and summer flounder (Figures 11-16). The 2017 research vessel survey index for southern windowpane is not available due to insufficient sampling of the standard strata set. 8. Atlantic halibut USA landings of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) in the Gulf of Maine-Georges Bank region decreased 6% from 68 mt in 2016 to 64 mt in 2015. In addition, 42.6 mt of halibut were landed in NAFO Div. 3N and 18.3 mt of halibut were discarded. In Div. 3M and 3L, 9.2 and 10.5 mt were landed, respectively and 0.5 and 1.9 mt discarded. Research vessel survey indices have little trend and high interannual variability due to the low capture rate of Atlantic halibut (Figure 17). In some years there are no Atlantic halibut caught, indicating that abundance is close to being below the detectability level of the survey.